BILL NUMBER: SCR 94	CHAPTERED  09/20/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   157
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 20, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 23, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Vasconcellos

                        AUGUST 18, 2000

   Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 94--Relative to former California
Congressman Norman Y. Mineta.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 94, Vasconcellos.  Former California Congressman Norman Y.
Mineta.
   This measure would honor former California Congressman Norman Y.
Mineta for his long and distinguished record of public service and
professional achievement and congratulate him on his recent
appointment by President Clinton to become Secretary of Commerce for
the United States of America.




   WHEREAS, President Clinton has appointed former California
Congressman Norman Y. Mineta to become his new Secretary of Commerce,
and he has been confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in
as Secretary of Commerce for the United States of America; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta thus becomes the first Asian Pacific American to
serve as a Cabinet Secretary in the entire history of the United
States; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta honorably represented the San Jose-Santa Clara
area of Silicon Valley in Congress for 21 years, being first elected
in 1974, and reelected 10 times before retiring in 1995, all the
while ably and honorably representing the heart of Silicon Valley,
the engine of California's prosperity and one of the three premier
export regions of the United States; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta, the son of Japanese immigrants, was taken away as
a boy in 1942 with his family to a World War II internment camp for
Japanese-Americans in Wyoming, and since then has worked tirelessly
and effectively to prevent similar injustices from occurring again;
and
   WHEREAS, Mineta began his political career as Treasurer of the
John Vasconcellos for Assembly Committee in 1966; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta was elected to the San Jose City Council in 1967,
and then Mayor of San Jose in 1971, becoming the first Asian-American
mayor of a major American city; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta was the lead sponsor in the United States Congress
and was instrumental in passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988,
which provided an official apology and reparations to
Japanese-Americans for government violations of their civil liberties
and constitutional rights in connection with their being sent to
World War II internment camps; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta's distinguished career in Congress, which included
chairmanship of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation,
earned him a reputation as a strong leader and, in the words of
President Clinton, "a highly skilled negotiator in Washington and
throughout the world"; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta most recently served as an executive with Lockheed
Martin and is Chairman and Cofounder of the Asian Pacific American
Institute for Congressional Studies, a nonprofit organization that
encourages Asian Pacific Americans to become more involved in the
political process; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta's personal history, uncommon talents, his
commitment to caring for and including every person in the American
dream, and his unwavering commitment to justice and equality for
everybody has led to him being called "a living legend in the Asian
Pacific American community", and to his becoming an inspiring role
model for many Americans of many ancestries; and
   WHEREAS, Mineta's appointment brings honor and joy to his family
and to his fellow Asian Americans and especially would have delighted
his mentor and second father, I.K. Ishimatsu (recently deceased);
and
   WHEREAS, Mineta's appointment as Secretary of Commerce properly
recognizes a long and distinguished career of public service and
numerous personal and professional achievements deserving of the
highest commendations; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
takes great pleasure in honoring former Congressman Norman Y. Mineta
for his long and distinguished record of public service and
professional achievement, and congratulates him on his recent
appointment by President Clinton to become Secretary of Commerce for
the United States of America; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to Secretary Mineta and the author for appropriate
distribution.
